SEMI-COLONIALISM AND JOURNALISTIC SPHERE OF INFLUENCE

Abstract

British–American press competition occurred in semi-colonial China in the early twentieth century, when the United States, as a rising world power, challenged the British monopoly by advocating an “Open Door Policy.” While the British and American presses in China strengthened the cohesion of their respective expatriate communities, we maintain that these newspapers also contributed in a fundamental way to the colonial reconfiguration and power redistribution between Britain and the United States as they vied for influence with different ideas and practices of colonialism. The historical legacies of semi-colonialism are relevant to contemporary globalization where countries are growing more interconnected while constantly competing for power and privilege.

Keywords:

• British–American competition
• colonialism
• foreign press
• press competition
• semi-colonialism

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the generous support of a grant from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (9041283-660) and additional assistance from the Center for Communication Research at the City University of Hong Kong. We also want to thank Huan Ran and You Li for their research assistance.